Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to India’s President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the accident on rail tracks in India's northern Punjab state which claimed the lives of more than 50 people, the Kremlin said in a statement published on its official website on Friday.

"I offer my deepest sympathies over tragic consequences of an accident on railways in the Punjab state. I ask to convey my words of sympathy and support to families and friends of the killed people and to wish the soonest recovery to those injured," the message says.

According to Indian authorities, the death toll might rise to 100 or 150.

A commuter train ran into a crowd near the city of Amritsar. The media reports said that at that moment between 300 and 700 people were standing on the tracks watching the effigy of the demon king Ravana burn.

The sun had already set and the train was speeding in the darkness. According to eyewitnesses, the crowds were unable to hear the sound of the approaching train due to firecrackers.